Cessna 172G N5800R

Summary

On 8 August 2015 at about 21:52 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N5800R, operated by Ronald Feimer, was involved in an accident near Hartington, Nebraska, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 August 2015 at 21:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Hartington, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (N/A)

Coordinates

42.8014, -97.4117

Aircraft

Cessna 172G

Registration

N5800R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Ronald Feimer

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grass Airstrip → Hartington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA343

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s decision to use an excessive, unapproved flap setting for takeoff, which significantly increased the induced drag and resulted in an aerodynamic stall when the airplane flew out of ground effect.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he departed from a private grass airstrip with the airplane's flaps set to 30 degrees. He then climbed the airplane to about 20 ft above ground level (agl) and continued to the southwest. About 50 ft agl, as the pilot reached over to raise the flaps 10 degrees, the engine lost partial power. The yoke abruptly came back toward him, the airplane's nose pitched up, and the stall warning horn sounded. He pushed the yoke forward as hard as he could with both hands and trimmed the nosewheel down, but the trimwheel was hard to turn, almost requiring two hands to move it. He reached over to the flap handle and "bumped" it to 10 degrees. The airplane then aerodynamically stalled, and it impacted the ground in a steep nose-down attitude. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The damage to the propeller indicated that the engine was developing power at the time of ground impact. The airplane owner's manual stated that "Flap settings of 30- to 40-degrees are not recommended at any time for take-off." Although the pilot reported a partial loss of engine power, it is likely that flying the airplane out of ground effect with the flap setting of 30 degrees significantly increased the induced drag, which created the effect of not having sufficient engine power to overcome the drag and prevent an aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.